Washington DC: Lorde has been forced to apologise for sharing a photo of a bathtub with Whitney Houston lyrics, which many fans interpreted to be 'insensitive.'

Taking to her Instagram page, the 'Royals' hit-maker wrote, 'Extremely poorly chosen quote. I'm so sorry for offending anyone - I hadn't even put this together, I was just excited to take a bath. I'm an idiot. Love Whitney forever and ever. Sorry again.'

The 21-year-old New Zealand singer and songwriter drew flak after she shared the snap of a running tub with the caption: "And iii will always love you", according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Netizens were quick to respond to Lorde's post, with many of them criticising her for being insensitive.

A user wrote, "Whitney was a legend. She was amazing. She was a queen. She was a strong black woman. I like Lorde but this is truly disgusting".

Another said, "Y'all. Lorde just made a Whitney Houston bathtub joke".

Houston died at the age of 48 after drowning in a bathtub in February 2012. Her daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, was found unconscious in a bathtub under tragically similar circumstances in January 2015, before dying six months later at the age of 22.